Truly Madly Deeply
by mickeylover303
Summary: Greg didn't have to close his eyes to know that Nick was all he needed. Slash.


Greg wanted to stay like this forever, close his eyes and know he wouldn't have to wake up.

He wanted nothing more than to devour this moment, hold on to it and never let it go. Inhaling the scent of sage, he raised his hand out of the water, making a fist as the liquid trickled out of his grasp; like some kind of prolonged piece of time that would always evade him.

The water was getting warmer, but not yet cool and he was more comfortable than he'd been in a long time. His muscles were loosening, his body was lax, and this time neither consequence was post-coital.

It was nice.

He sighed contentedly as he curled his toes against the edge of the tub, the remnants of bubbles disappearing in between them and making soft, crackling noises among the small ripples of water.

At the end of the day, beyond the complications of work, past the snags offered by life (including running out of coffee because a certain trace technician used the last of his stash – even if Hodges claimed it wasn't a secret when he found it), it all came down to the simple things in the end.

However, as much as Greg didn't mind being the in tub for the last thirty minutes or so, the water was getting more than a little cold now. And he didn't know if he could endure the snoring in his ears for much longer.

He turned his head, careful not slip on the body below his as he reached his hand above him, flicking water on Nick's nose.

Greg rolled his eyes when Nick snorted. He understood the other man was tired – maybe more than he even realised – but how he could fall asleep in the tub, Greg would never know. "…Nicky…"

"Huh…?" Nick began to move, motions almost sharp as he tried gain some sense of coherency. "I'm up…I'm up."

"Sure…that's why I'm making sure you're not asleep." Greg started to laugh, placing a wet hand on Nick's arm. "Don't move…you're going to make me slip."

"Sorry, I-"

"Haven't been sleeping much."

"…yeah."

"Either way, you make a pretty good pillow."

Nick scoffed, turning his head away from Greg as he yawned. "And I was a pretty good footrest, too, huh?"

"Oh…don't forget masseuse. If people only knew of those magic fingers."

"The ones that do…this?"

Greg began squirming in Nick's grasp as the older man tickled him. "Stop…Nick, stop."

"You're more ticklish in water."

"Yeah, so don't-" Greg stopped, sentence broken when his foot hitting the edge of the tub, the sound loud and reverberating in the bathroom, followed loosely by Nick's laughter.

"My foot. I'm crippled," he said, complaining playfully.

Nick smiled wrapping his arms around Greg, taking the other man's earlobe in his lips and lightly tracing it with his teeth. "Want me to kiss it for you?"

"I know I've done some amazing things." Greg slightly raised his foot out of the water, revealing the damage or lack thereof. "But that's a whole new level of flexibility for me."

"Who says we can't try?"

"I should have left you asleep in here," Greg said as he slowly began to stand, his hands gripping the sides of the tub. "I'm feeling ridiculously mature for some reason."

Nick laughed as he began to pull Greg back down, the water rushing around them and threatening to spill onto the floor. "Just a couple more minutes…please."

"Okay," Greg reluctantly conceded, making himself comfortable once more as he settled in Nick's lap. The water was still somewhat cold, but he more or less agreed because Nick probably wouldn't let him go anyway.

He slid further down Nick's body, deeper into the water as he rested his head on Nick's chest. He looked at his arm, feeling more than seeing the wrinkly skin distorted by the water.

Apart from the disagreeable temperature, he really didn't mind staying in the tub for a little while longer. He hadn't really done anything like this before; during his past relationships or with Nick. It was the older man's suggestion, something he did to ease himself after a long day. Greg just wasn't expecting to be invited, too.

But Nick was more prone to do things like that now…things Greg didn't expect.

And it was those same things that made Nick who he was, who he is, and continued to amaze Greg. Because Nick was more than he could explain, so much wrapped into one person and sometimes Greg couldn't help but wonder if this aspect of his life was some kind of fantasy concocted by his perverse mind.

He wouldn't go as far to say that Nick was his reason for living or something clichéd like that.

But he could admit that his relationship with Nick came pretty close.

Greg didn't know if he would ever be able to put it into words, but there was something about Nick that made him want to give in, needed him to believe in that silly thing called love, regardless of how hollow it sounded outside the realm of his mind.

Maybe that could explain how he felt towards Nick. Maybe something so deceivingly simple could somehow capture the late nights and early mornings; whenever he and Nick shared those small unnoticeable smiles at work; when they woke up on the couch and Nick wouldn't say anything about the drool hanging from the corner of Greg's mouth.

Or maybe it was when he and Nick argued, voices raised for the sake of disagreement; when they couldn't look at each for days at a time; when Greg slept alone, wrapping himself in the comfort of a blanket to simulate the warmth that had always been there.

But maybe love was Nick, being with Nick and the way Nick discovered his way inside him, penetrating him deeply and thoroughly until Greg wasn't sure where Nick ended and where he began. That with every breath, there was something that swelled inside of Greg, threatening to break him if he wasn't too careful.

"I love you," he whispered softly, the words somewhat strange as he tried them out for the first time in Nick's presence.

Greg was somewhat disappointed when he didn't see the fireworks, when he wasn't overcome by sudden emotion or was granted some kind of cathartic release. Outside of his mind, those words alone somehow didn't seem to be enough.

And maybe that was because he said it more to himself than to Nick and Greg was sure that the other man hadn't heard him.

It sounded better in his head, anyway.

But Greg's eyes closed when Nick's body became stiff; arms around the younger man's waist tightening and Greg licked his lips as he found his mouth quickly become dry. He bit his tongue when he realised that Nick had heard him, the whispered words he wasn't sure Nick was ready to hear.

He waited in the silence that followed, seemingly for hours as he concentrated on Nick's stilled chest. Though, they've been through much together, took the proverbial leap and bought a home together, the thought that their relationship actually entailed love wasn't really something they spoke about.

Or at all, really.

He released the breath he now noticed he was holding when Nick's chest began to move again, and he felt a kiss on the side of his head.

"I love you, too."

Opening his eyes, Greg still didn't see the fireworks or any kind of light for that matter. With the exception of relief, he didn't feel much different than he did two minutes ago.

It wasn't the way he anticipated it happening, wasn't sure if they would ever talk about the possibility of love at all, but he was more surprised he didn't have that moment – that kind of epiphany where everything suddenly came into place and life finally made sense.

Though, somehow, it became more than enough when Nick said it, too; to hear that he wasn't the only one and he wasn't just taken by the moment. And even though there was no liberating feeling that followed those four little words, it was then that Greg understood why in the comfortable silence that followed.

Because the fact that Nick loved him was something he already knew.

* * *

_:insert standard issue disclaimer here:_

_I know this is unbelievably sappy, but I admit that it was intentional this time...probably the only time I will actually admit to a piece such as this being deliberate. This is also sickeningly domestic; though it does take place in the WibG universe and I needed something that suggested this aspect of their relationship. It takes place in season four (I think) and that's all I can say about it._

_Bleh._


End file.
